   #copyright

Armadillo

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                iArmadillos
   Nine-banded Armadillo
   Nine-banded Armadillo
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Mammalia
   Superorder: Xenarthra
   Order:      Cingulata
               Illiger, 1811
   Family:     Dasypodidae
               Gray, 1821

                                   Genera

     * Dasypus
     * Jaspyrus
     * Calyptophractus
     * Chaetophractus
     * Chlamyphorus
     * Euphractus
     * Zaedyus
     * Cabassous
     * Priodontes
     * Tolypeutes
     * Glyptodontidae (extinct)

   Armadillos are small placental mammals of the family Dasypodidae, known
   for having a bony armor shell. Their average length is about 75
   centimeters (30 inches), including tail. All species are native to the
   Americas, where they inhabit a variety of environments. In the United
   States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo
   (Dasypus novemcinctus), which is most common in the central southern
   states, particularly Texas.

   Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata. Until
   as recently as 1995, the family was placed in the order Xenarthra,
   along with the anteaters and sloths. There are several species of
   Armadillo, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on
   their armor.

Habitat and physiology

   Armadillos are prolific diggers, and many species use their sharp claws
   to dig for food such as grubs, and to dig dens. The Nine-banded
   Armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks,
   streams and arroyos near which it lives and feeds. The diet of
   different armadillo species varies, but consists mainly of insects,
   grubs and other invertebrates. Some species, however, are almost
   entirely formicivorous (feeding mainly on ants).

   Armadillos have poor vision but are not blind.

   The armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in small,
   overlapping epidermal scales called " scutes". This armor-like skin
   appears to be the main defense of many armadillos, although most escape
   predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, which their armor
   protects them from) or digging to safety. Armadillos have short legs
   but can move quickly, and have the ability to remain underwater for as
   long as six minutes. Only the South American three-banded armadillos (
   Tolypeutes) rely heavily on their armor for protection. When threatened
   by a predator, Tolypeutes species frequently roll up into a ball.
   (Other armadillo species cannot roll up because they have too many
   plates.) The North American Nine-banded Armadillo tends to jump
   straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides
   with the undercarriage of passing vehicles.

Armadillos and science

   Armadillos are often used in the study of leprosy, since they, along
   with mangabey monkeys, rabbits and mice (on their footpads), are among
   the few known non-human animal species that can contract the disease
   systemically. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually
   low body temperature, which is hospitable to the leprosy bacterium.
   Wild armadillos can carry leprosy, but transmission to humans is rare.

   The Nine-banded Armadillo also serves science through its unusual
   reproductive system, in which four identical quadruplets (all the same
   sex) are born in each clutch. Because they are always identical, the
   group of four young provides a good subject for scientific, behavioural
   or medical tests that need consistent biological and genetic makeup in
   the test subjects. This phenomenon of multiple identical birth, called
   polyembryony, only manifests in the genus Dasypus and not in all
   armadillos, as is commonly believed.

Armadillos and humans

   The armadillo was, with some resistance, made the state small mammal of
   Texas , where it is considered a pest and is often seen dead on the
   roadside. In the state of Washington, it is illegal to own an
   armadillo.

   Armadillos can be kept as pets, although they require moist ground in
   which to dig and catch insects. They are difficult to fully
   domesticate.

   They first forayed into Texas across the Rio Grande from Mexico in the
   1800s, eventually spreading across the southeast United States. They
   make common roadkill — jokingly described by some as "possums in a half
   shell" — and a burrowing nuisance to homeowners, cemetery caretakers
   and golf course superintendents.

   Wildlife enthusiasts are using the northward march of the armadillo as
   an opportunity to educate others about the animals, which during the
   Great Depression were known as "Hoover Hogs" by down-on-their luck
   Americans who had to eat them instead of the "chicken in every pot"
   Herbert Hoover had promised as President.

   Order Cingulata
     * Family Pampatheriidae: giant armadillos (extinct)
     * Family Glyptodontidae (extinct)
          + Glyptodon (extinct)
     * Family Dasypodidae: armadillos
          + Pink Fairy Armadillo, Chlamyphorus truncatus
          + Pichiciego, Chlamyphorus retusus
          + Northern Naked-tailed Armadillo, Cabassous centralis
          + Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillo, Cabassous chacoensis
          + Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo, Cabassous unicinctus
          + Greater Naked-tailed Armadillo, Cabassous tatouay
          + Little Hairy Armadillo or Screaming Hairy armadillo,
            Chaetophractus vellerosus
          + Hairy Armadillo, Chaetophractus villosus
          + Andean Hairy Armadillo, Chaetophractus nationi
          + Nine-banded Armadillo or Long-nosed Armadillo, Dasypus
            novemcinctus
          + Seven-banded Armadillo, Dasypus septemcinctus
          + Southern Long-nosed Armadillo, Dasypus hybridus
          + Llanos Long-nosed Armadillo, Dasypus sabanicola
          + Great Long-nosed Armadillo, Dasypus kappleri
          + Hairy Long-nosed Armadillo, Dasypus pilosus
          + Six-banded Armadillo or Yellow Armadillo, Euphractus
            sexcinctus
          + Giant Armadillo or Tatou, Priodontes maximus
          + Southern Three-banded Armadillo, Tolypeutes matacus
          + Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo, Tolypeutes tricinctus
          + Pichi or Dwarf Armadillo, Zaedyus pichiy

Trivia

     * In the Joe R. Lansdale novel Captains Outrageous, a Texan armadillo
       named Bob is kept as a pet by Leonard Pine, one of the central
       characters.
     * A stuffed armadillo plays an important role in John Irving's novel
       A Prayer for Owen Meany.
     * Because of the weight of its armor, an armadillo will sink in water
       unless it inflates its stomach with air, which often doubles its
       size.
     * A number of towns in Texas hold beauty pageants for armadillos.
     * Glyptotherium texanum (extinct) was a close cousin of the
       armadillo, living in the tropical and subtropical regions of
       Florida, South Carolina and Texas. It had a six-foot-long carapace
       and weighed in at approximately 2,000 pounds (1 ton).
     * Armadillos are one of the few mammals that mate face-to-face.
     * German POWs in Texas would often refer to the armadillo as "panzer
       schwein" (armored pig).
     * Recorded to be the animal with the most dreams in sleep (that is,
       with the most observed REM sleep).
     * Armadillos are very agile in the water and have been known to swim
       for up to two miles without rest.
     * "Armadillo" is Spanish for "little armored one".
     * Judge Harry Stone from the 1980s television show Night Court had a
       stuffed armadillo in his chambers.
     * The charango, a ten- string instrument related to the guitar and
       native to Andean South America, is traditionally made from the
       shell of an armadillo.
     * An unused potential character from the video game Sonic the
       Hedgehog was an armadillo, Mighty the Armadillo.
     * Army the Armadillo was a character in the Donkey Kong Country SNES
       and N64 games. It was a three-banded armadillo that rolled when
       approached. It required two hits by Diddy in a ball, and one by
       Donkey. The boss in 64 had rockets out of its shoulders.
     * The armadillo serves as the mascot of the Snell-Hitchcock dormitory
       at the University of Chicago.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
